Be A Better Salesman

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There is no shortage of films and books on how to be a better salesman. The problem is that most of these tomes take a very "tunnel vision" approach to selling. Selling yourself, or rather, marketing yourself, is something that everyone does on a regular basis. Some market their ideas to students as professors, others market their ideas in public office, and many have to market their ideas to prospective clients.

you're for sale

It is fundamental to state that technically, we are not marketing ourselves , but rather someone else's ideas, or a company's products or services. A professor, for example, may fall in the former category, a salesperson in the latter. Effectively, however, we market ourselves. Even in a high-tech world, people rely on human interaction. Using psychology to convince others means that the onus falls on an individual and how they market themselves. After all, even in the typical sales scenario, a person who has to sign a check needs to be convinced that you have their interests in mind and not just yours, right?

Right. So how can you successfully become a better seller, or marketer? Read on. If I were to address how a professor could better market himself and how a politician can better position himself, we would be here until next year, so for the sake of this article, we will look at a traditional sales setting. If you have any questions for other settings, e-mail me and I will write a follow-up article. For now, here are 11 tips:

1- Think big

Whether you sell IT gear, advertise or offer recruiting services, you have to go into every meeting confident that your goal will ultimately help them . Of course, you should thank them for their time and receptiveness, but make no mistake about it; you are helping them. That is, after all, why they pay you. The best salespeople are the ones that clients return to, not the ones that fly in and scoop up big contracts, only to disappear in the future. And the salespeople that clients return to are the ones who understand and respect their business.

2- Be a people person

There are some very good salespeople that could be better served if they took more time to get to know their clients. In other words, do your best to understand clients, both personally and professionally. Call them once in a while just to say "hi," and send an e-mail to see if all is well. Engage in small talk and ask about issues that do not pertain to work. The bottom line is that even the best and most aggressive salesperson should not always be on (overt) sales or business mode. Conversely, always keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities.

3- Be honest

The truth always rears its head at some point, so be on the up and up with clients from the get-go. Instantly, you'll be adding 10% to the lifetime value of the account you will get from them, if not more. Financials aside, the trust that you secure and build will be priceless when they are unsure about the merit of renewing a contract. They know you are candid, so they will probably lean toward you.